16 Forest(4)

"Fenrir, don't look at me like that, it's a Qi beast and must be eaten raw," Cale explained after seeing Fenrir's puppy eyes staring at him, "Maybe you'd even have an evolution after eating it," Cale added.

"Nnn?" Fenrir didn't quite understand Cale's words, tilting his head to the side.

"Just eat it like that, we have to leave soon," Cale promptly muttered as he digressed in his thoughts, trying to remember anything about Qi Beasts.

In his past life, Cale wasn't that interested in beasts and how they grew stronger since he was usually the one who killed them. The only thing he clearly remembered was that some of the beasts could be born with divine powers, which had a definite connection to their race and genes.

As for Qi, Cale only knew that they could obtain it by eating other beasts and evolve, some could even be born with Qi naturally.

"Munch~" Fenrir didn't restrain himself any further and began to devour the dead lizard. On the other side, Cale dropped to the ground, getting some rest before the department.

After becoming a skeleton, he constantly felt fatigued and exhausted, especially after fighting for so long. With his mind still filled with controversial emotions, Cale looked at the blue screens again.

"Can I touch them?" Cale wondered before extending his hand forward. As he had predicted, his white bone went through the screen, coming out the other side.

"My hand...What the hell?"

Instead of focusing on the screen, Cale was more impressed after taking a look at his hand, which had been broken to the elbow just a few days ago. However, now it seemed to have lengthened?

Although the growth was barely visible, through diligent study and comparison, it indeed got longer.

'Are my bones growing back naturally?'

That was the only likely reason circling in Cale's mind. Examining his own bone again, Cale's mind turned clear. He was certain that whatever his body was made of, it was definitely not bones.

"Grrr..."

Cale's thoughts were interrupted by a low growl coming from Fenrir.

"Huh?" Cale was, without a doubt, surprised. The lizard's former composite body was nowhere to be seen, instead, the entire perimeter was filled with bones of various shapes.

"How the hell did you eat the whole thing? What kind of monster are you?" asked Cale, looking at Fenrir who was lying comfortably on the ground, his stomach sticking out.

"Grrr..." Fenrir couldn't even look at Cale because of his huge belly that kept making ominous noises.

'How could he eat someone three times his size?' Cale almost fell to the ground in shock. When did this cute wolf turn into such a glutton?

"Fenrir...Can you even move?" Cale asked, only to see Fenrir happily sticking out his tongue a few seconds later.

'There's a faint Qi around him' Cale finally sensed something bizarre happening around Fenrir, his eyes instantly turning serious. Albeit faint, there was still a Qi glow that could be felt emanating from Fenrir's body.

"Do you feel something strange in your body?" Cale walked towards the satisfied wolf, curious.

"Nnn?" Fenrir downright smiled after hearing Cale's words, indicating that he, on the other hand, felt better than ever. As Cale continued to examine the beast from all sides, Fenrir began to lean forward, trying to stand back up.

However, even after a few tries, Fenrir didn't manage to stand up as his belly was a few times bigger than before, causing his body to lose stability.

'Do beasts instinctively use Qi?' thought Cale, looking at Fenrir again. According to the law of nature, beasts were always more talented at using Qi, as they didn't need to train, nor did they have trouble sensing it.

However, this was the exact reason why beasts were constantly losing to humans. Striving to become more powerful, most of them fought against each other in search of new power. Due to the small number of Qi beasts, which are still growing fewer with each passing day, humanity easily subjugated them, becoming the true rulers of their respective lands.

"Fenrir, you are really giving me a hard time. I'm going to cut off your treats for the next few days."

"Grrrr!" Fenrir's eyes instantly watered as he glanced at Cale.

'Why is he acting like he didn't just eat a whole beast?' Cale sighed, not having any ability to comprehend this wolf's shamelessness, "I'm just kidding, Fenrir...Are you sure you can't get up? We need to go before other beasts show up"

"Nnn" Fenrir let out a low growl before attempting to stand back up. Unfortunately, he failed, rolling back to his original spot.

"What am I going to do with you, Fenrir?" Cale chuckled lightly, thinking that it was rather amusing. After a few more seconds of enjoying Fenrir's struggle, Cale picked him up.

To his surprise, Fenrir became so heavy that Cale barely had enough strength to hold him still. Needing to use some of his Qi force for something so unnecessary, Cale became slightly irritated, "Fenrir, from now on, you will follow a strict workout schedule."

"Grrr..." Fenrir growled in annoyance. Not only was he mocked for not being able to stand up, now he's even being threatened with having to exercise? How shameless can this skeleton get?

'This is going to be a long walk,' Cale thought before throwing Fenrir on his shoulder and beginning to walk somewhere into the forest, disappearing in-between nature.

-

Somewhere deep in the forest, two teenagers could be seen sitting right next to each other with their gazes fixed onto the perimeter. Reflecting from the tranquil lake, moonlight fell on the teenagers' faces, creating a silent yet romantic atmosphere.

The average-looking teenager with short-cropped brown hair and a petite nose was the first to break the silence, "Layla, I've been holding this in for a long time, but I can't do that anymore...I-I really like you!"

A beautiful girl with a pair of thin lips and blue eyes blushed slightly before pushing her soft hair out of her forehead, "Leo...I also lik--"

Thud!

Before Layla could finish her sentence, a loud thud sounded behind her back. Taken off guard, they both looked astern in sync.

"What the hell is that?" muttered Leo in shock after seeing a person rush out of the forest. Instead of focusing on the person's fine, dark armor, he was more startled by the face of the intruder.

"Fenrir, you stupid wolf! I understand that you're cold, but you can't fit in my armor!" Cale yelled, trying to push the giant ball of fur out of his face. However, even after a few attempts, Cale couldn't shift it out of sight, as it was stuck pretty deeply.

"Is that a warrior?" Leo muttered softly, his gaze shifting to Layla in panic. "Layla, inform the village quickly! I'll stall him!"

'People?' Cale stopped in his tracks after hearing a shout from the distance. Without a second's hesitation, Cale unsheathed his blade while simultaneously trying to push Fenrir out of the view.